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As events play out in Kabul, we're witnessing a great humiliation for a new US administration that narrowly avoided a constitutional crisis just seven months prior. That threat rapidly paled in comparison to the strangle hold Covid held on the nation. Overhanging these events was the impending departure from a decades long war in Afghanistan. Now as that plays out on the international stage, America's vulnerable underbelly is exposed to criticism for the manner it's managing this disentanglement. And justifiably so. I've shared my thoughts on the matter along with others who've posted in this thread. On the whole, comments cited the obvious missteps over the past 20 years. Yes, there were also advances in human rights westerners hold in high regard, but most of those will fade away as the Taliban promises to restore traditional customs. But also discussed was the inevitably of the outcome. For over a thousand years the country had been ruled by a religion-based code of behavior enforced by warlords who function as autonomous governors. They and their survivors have kept long memories and never considered democratic rule even remotely acceptable. The reckoning has arrived for them as they banish the Americans as they did the Russians and British before them. As an American, I share that humiliation. It reinforces lessons that should have been learned in the past: good intentions are insufficient to bring about nation building. Few in the population aspired to it because they never truly experienced it. They just want to live their lives in some manner of peace. As new rulers take over Afghanistan, attention will be drawn to other regions of the world. And it will fall, as it inevitably does, to the nations with the most assets to decipher what role--if any--they should play in current and future disputes. Already sides are being drawn in the South China Sea as an aggressive Beijing seeks to expand its domination of Southeast Asia with its 9-dash line claims. The US, UK, Australia and India appear determined to keep the seaways open but the situation remains tense. As the exodus from Afghanistan winds down, I expect that even America's friends will continue to be critical but I likewise hope they don't see it as an opportunity to kick their friend when she's down. You never know when you may very much need her once more in the future.

Just watched last, the 8th episode. Final episode a bit oversentimental and overdramatic at the same time but overall I liked series quite a lot. Sun is most manly man from all BL series released this year so far. Very unique exploitation of real life problem - rare blood type. After a while I may be tempted to watch it again, badge of honor as far as me and BL series are concerned

I made a quick trip to Barcelona. I visited the sauna on two occasions. One was 7.30pm on Sunday and 5pm on Saturday. Saturday was busy but quite surprisingly more clients than boys. I would say there were 15 to 20 escort at 6 or 7pm, the busiest. However I noticed that the quality was a lot worse. Usually I can try three boys easily when I go to thermas but it was hard to find one these days. I tried Marcio, a buffy/muscly guy but he couldnt get hard. He said he can do everything but in cabin they changed his story. I hate these guys and of course it didn't go well. I asked him what to do, he replied we can finish but I asked if I have to pay 50e he said yes. Such a big turn off. I said he didn't deliver and he was not happy but in the end he wanted 30e so I gave it and got rid off him. Honestly if there were any other options I didn't have to deal with him but it is what it is. On another day I met with a guy I met long time ago. Actually he is really good and I took him immediately after seeing him. I also saw him finishing at least two more clients easily after me while I was cruising fory next, which turned out to be a lot harder lol I really don't understand why boys there who cannot perform or get clients spend so much time there... In any case at least I had one good sex. I also contacted a few boys I know from my previous times and most of them said they stopped going to the sauna. Maybe you guys could ask your regulars over whatsapp and get info about the current situation. Mine is just two nights so it might give you some limited insights. I also tried web ads and hunqs. It was endless process with chatting and not knowing who is real and a good performer. Also,there are jus too many ads and I didn't wanna spend so much time saving random numbers and whatsapping just to learn the rate. Most would quote 100 and slightly less for 30min. Things are slow on whatsapp and these sites. I was traveling with friends so didn't have the luxury to sit down and chat forever to figure out someone good. Overall I am disappointed in Barcelona in terms of what it used to offer. Hope it gets better soon

Rick Steves, who produces the popular PBS travel series about Europe and its environs, visited Iran in 2014 and made an hour-long episode. His reaction was identical to that of PeterRS, describing the country as the most surprising and fascinating land he's ever visited. He also had the same reaction to the people he encountered.

The Suicide Squad is pretty fun. But you can also see it on HBOMax. Was actually good to see in a big Dolby Laser theater though. Free Guy... meh. Should've had a lot to drink first. Too much of the good stuff is in the trailers and the rest is pretty predictable. The Green Knight... ... ... is trippy. Interesting and well done. Basically like Excalibur but much less action, so some will find boring and many will find confusing. Still, glad I saw it.

AKA:

I think you've hit the next nail firmly on the head. China's determination to dominate the South China Sea in the face of opposition from a number of countries allied to all the veiled threats that Xi Jinping has been throwing out about Taiwan may well be the next major international dispute. We will see in the fullness of time if the opposition to XI within China's ruling mandarins will see him ejected from power. That could help diffuse both situations. Another could be if Biden attempts a closer relationship with Beijing. How useful that would be to him politically in the USA, I do not know - probably not much unless it opens up a lot more trade for US companies.

Just more thoughts. 1. Over millennia the great powers have discovered two things: that being the world's policeman is no easy job, and that very often their actions come back to haunt them at some time in the future. Also great powers never last - they never have. In that context I suggest those interested in the subject read a remarkable book by the British historian and specialist in economics and international relations, Paul Kennedy. When "The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers" first appeared in 1987 it was something of a revelation. It was one of the first books to examine and analyse in detail the relationship between military might, strategy and economics in determining the forces which result in the rise of Empires and their eventual - and inevitable - demise. Although the book only covers the period from 1500 onward, it is equally applicable to the Persian, Greek, Roman and other earlier Empires. Not long after its publication, the seemingly permanent Soviet Empire came crashing down. It had never mastered the balance between economics and military might. 2. Everything in our world changes much faster than before. Voters in many countries elect their governments every 4 or 5 years and it is surely true to say that most voters pay vastly more attention to local issues than foreign policy; hence domestic politics inevitably take precedence. But no great power can afford its major foreign policy goals always to change over the short term. Foreign policy requires a considerably longer time frame if it is to avoid often major errors further down the line, errors like mission creep, changing conditions on the ground and exit strategies. 3. The death of the Soviet Union was thought by some to be the end of a war. "We won," said Bush Snr. - a particularly stupid comment when it means rubbing another nation's face in the mud. I'll bet that was mild compared to Putin's feelings at the time! It wasn't an end. It was the start of a new international order where large and small nations flexed their muscle. The Korean and Indo-Chinese wars may have been to a large extent proxies of the Cold War. But the same is true today of much of the Middle East where the Iran regime is intent in righting the wrongs inflicted on it earlier largely by the USA and flying the flag of Shi'a Islam in a part of the world where Sunnis are very much in the majority. Russia with Putin in charge is determined not to forgive the USA for its "we've won" declaration and the way it won. China is flexing its muscles in a very big way and is on the verge of being a great power. Today it is just that the proxies have changed. 4. I don't have a solution to short-termism. But it is vital to my thinking that in terms of foreign policy great powers think long-term and have a constant body of expert advisors working closely with administrations to which administrations and their policy makers actually pay heed. The concept of invading a nation to impart America's values (or those of any other invading country) of democracy, freedom and a certain religion should be a dead duck. Nation building should be a thing of the past. Invasion should only be a final option. In the case of Vietnam and Iraq, the US Congress proved itself a fickle body by paying attention to a bunch of liars and interested parties paraded before it. It also took on board deliberate lies spun by its government officials. Look further back and you can say virtually the same about the parliaments of other nations. 5. The United Nations will never be an effective tool in controlling and solving world problems. Why have the 5 permanent members been there since the mid 1940s? China then was a third world country. The Soviet Union no longer exists. France and the UK may have had influence then. Today they are minnows. The make up of the Security Council was reshaped in 1965. Over the last 56 years, the world has seen massive changes. When it comes to the broader make up, why is Europe afforded 3 seats when the vastly larger Africa and Asia together only get 5? The former has a population of around 500 million. The latter over 5.7 billion! And its decisions are sometimes more than strange. Why was Pol Pot's genocidal regime permitted to retain Cambodia's seat in the UN thereby being the only legitimate representative of the Cambodian people after its defeat in 1979 until 1990? The UN's International Criminal Court in The Hague, on the other hand, has had a degree of success in bringing individuals from many countries to justice. But the USA is one of the main countries that refuses to join the Court or to have any of its citizens subject to the Court's Jurisdiction. In 2005, Hilary Clinton made the extraordinary statement, "Europe must acknowledge that the United States has global responsibilities that create unique circumstances. For example, we are more vulnerable to the misuse of an international criminal court because of the international role we play and the resentments that flow from that ubiquitous presence around the world." Unique circumstances? Such as, I wonder? Well, I know, but will not extend this further.

That's disturbing, but from what I've read so far Delta is more transmissible and so is edging Lambda out. However as Delta wanes it could supplant it as the next wave.

Report on the local version of gay escorts discussion forums. https://ilikepinga.com/2021/08/15/foro-pirata/

It's illegal in Thailand , I heard some working girls in Pattaya who did try virtual online sex were arrested, fined and their equipment was confiscated. Apparently the Thai authorities are monitoring the web and trying to prevent it.

I would but who will benefit then ? Only said struggling and homeless , not appointed councilors

Cuban sanctions are most idiotic of them all, only giving excuse to the regime to blame them for all ills. Let's be honest , when was last time Cuba posed threat to USA and their interests? It's just vote getter for Florida constituencies As for Iran , your impressions mirrors mine. Western propaganda , twin sister of Eastern one makes us afraid to venture there and when we finally brave it , we find country exactly as you described.

Just finished to see the whole series no doubt it is the best Thai BL commedy this year even better than the Lovely Writer series ,So many hilarious scenes and such a great cast , The main couple Jin and Bbomb are adorable .

Goddamnit Phil

I think that confusion applies to all travelers from all countries arriving to anywhere. Recent 'The Economist' reports that IATA website required 200 updates about various entry rules world wide in just ONE day

Only consolation is that it seems no government has a clue what to do and it's " try and see " approach everywhere . I recently visited two countries before returning to my own. Country 1 required proof of full vaccination and a pre-trip registration for tracking purposes indicating where I will be reachable. Vaccination proof was checked on both ends of trip but that registration only on departure, not arrival, go figure ! Country 2 did not even bother to ask for proof of vaccination on arrival but checked for it on departure. It also required pre-trip registration for tracking but only in QR code form, nor printed one. Good luck to those who don't have smartphone or it's battery just died. Fortunately border officials were helping them with their own phones, I'm kidding you not ! My own country was only one requiring pre-flight PCR test made up to 3 days before departure, likely to give me 3 days chance to catch something anyways but at great expense of 150$. Proof of vaccination and arrival registration form was also required and given cursory glance at the border. As if to produce justification to post it here border official were chiefly interested not in all those certificates but with several Thai stamps in my passport , most recent from exactly 22 months ago and usual questions "why you go there too often " etc. followed. One another hand one of my friends just completed three week circle rail trip around the Europe - Germany, Poland, Czech, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Italy , France, Germany and doesn't recall any case when he was asked to provide anything other that cash or credit card neither in restaurants not hotels , not to mention non-existing borders. So it seems that nonsense is largely limited to air travel. While I'm happy to finally be able to go somewhere after those 22 months I have an impression that world collectively is slowly loosing it's sense in this pandemic and suffers mighty lack of co-ordination blended with random over-regulation. While it may seem to be only nuisance it may produce disastrous results in next elections as tired populations may vote for any idiot promising to end all that nonsense.

Cash! 🤣

I watch reruns of Love Boat and am always amazed how many old stars they scooped up to come aboard!

Among America's mistake was pursuing the absurd notion that it could bring about a permanent change in Afghan culture, particularly as it pertains to the rule of law and the role of women that has existed for millennia. It was not lack of good intentions, it was lack of having a clearly defined exit policy (in crude terms, a "you come, I go" understanding. Instead it became party a save face, partly a political football in a game that never ends well. If you distill all the above comments, there's one common theme that repeats itself. The biggest error was boots-on-the-ground 20 years ago that emerged after the attacks of 9/11 on American soil. We all have to ask--regardless of where we come from--how we think our government should have responded to such an event? Few countries, I believe, would have allowed it to go unchallenged. Emotions and national pride considerations were just too high. A group of neo-cons had the ear of the president and the rest is history. In retrospect, it proved unfair to the long-suffering women of Afghanistan to lead them to believe that their role in society was to abruptly change forever. Just about everyone knew--but remained reluctant to admit--that the tenure of that change would cease when allied forced withdrew and local customs would be restored. That's how it has always been in recorded history. There was also no good reason to believe that Afghans could govern themselves based on a western system of nation-wide elections. But western leaders found it politically unacceptable to let go of the idea. Warlords had run most of the land and Islam was the method of settling criminal and civil disputes. The official national government existed at the collective will of those warlords. Last night I watched a an interview with the author of a new book, "The American War in Afghanistan," who was for many years in a unique position to observe the situation from the ground. Carter Malkasian earned a doctorate in military history from the University of Oxford. After completing his studies, he became a teacher at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. He then worked at the Center for Naval Analyses before spending time in Iraq conducting research in 2004 and 2006. In 2007, he worked with a Provincial Reconstruction Team in Kunar Province in Afghanistan. He returned to Afghanistan in 2009 and spent two years in Garmsir District in Helmand Province as a State Department representative to the district. In Garsmir, he was known for his ability to speak Pashto and his rejection of typical personal security precautions. From May 2013 to August 2014, he worked as a political adviser to General Joseph Dunford, the commander of the U.S. forces in Afghanistan. What impressed me about the interview was his precise yet dispassionate analysis of those years. It wasn't that the issues that confront us today were unknown, it seems that leaders--military and political (foreign and local) couldn't give up the ideal solutions they cultivated over time. The risk of doing to was too great because it could involve loss of face. They listened carefully to what he said but then defaulted to the original goals in a style so acceptable to diplomats. So here's that interview. Take from it what you will. Hopefully it will help all of us put this in a context that allows us to move beyond blame and instead to a greater understanding and appreciation of the world we all inhabit today. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/why-did-the-us-lose-in-afghanistan-a-new-book-explores-decades-of-mistakes

Eminently sensible demands, in my opinion and consequently doomed to be ignored. Poor Thailand. Still, good to see that the young are still struggling for justice.

I am laughing alone. Super good.

So after 20 years the US is almost out of Afghanistan. The peace talks with the Taliban which have been going on for three years next month were clearly a sham. Now the Taliban has speedily controlled far more territory than anyone involved seemed to have anticipated and we can surely expect the entire country to be taken over once again by that ultra Islamic bunch. Women will be forced out of schools, will have to wear strict Islamic dress, music will be banned, adulterers stoned, gays thrown from buildings - and goodness knows what else. That country has been fought over almost more than any other since the British disaster around 1840. In more recent times, the Soviet invasion at the end of 1979 achieved little apart from enabling the CIA to furnish a huge amount of weaponry to the local guerrillas, weapons that would eventually come back to haunt them. The CIA had actually been involved in Afghanistan even before the Russians arrived. As for their the Russian adventure, British journalist Patrick Brogan probably summed it up best when he wrote, "They got sucked into Afghanistan much as the United States got sucked into Vietnam, without clearly thinking through the consequences, and wildly underestimated the hostility they would arouse." The end result was a country all but ruined by war of whose population a third (over 5 million) had became permanent refugees. The guerrillas which saw the back of the Soviet forces in 1989 were led by the Afghan Mujahideen backed by the US, the UK and other powers using it as a proxy in the Cold War. Having thereafter backed the moderate Northern Alliance under Ahmad Shah Massoud, the western powers were left rudderless when two Al Qaeda operatives posing as cameramen filming an interview blew themselves up along with Massoud two days before the 9/11 attacks. Soon thereafter the US troops and their allies attacked with the aim of quickly flushing out Osama bin Laden. As in Vietnam, they found themselves stuck in the Afghan mud! President Biden may well be happy that his troops will all have departed by next month. But as has become a pattern, the USA's departure after invasion leaves a stink in the air. Just as happened at the end of the Vietnam war and just as happened at the end of the Iraq invasion, the US is leaving behind tens of thousands (if not many more) Afghanis and their families without whose help they would have had little chance of any success. And in all three cases it is not as though they did not have time to plan for these intelligent and now desperately afraid people's exit. Trump announced the withdrawal of troops 10 months ago. Biden, having hinted it for months, finally announced it four months ago. Yet the excuse now given for leaving behind so many who aided the US is that there has not been enough time to process the paperwork! I find that not merely utterly disgraceful. In my book it comes close to a war crime! Who in future is going to believe what have become essentially US lies? "Don't worry! We will look after you," surely rings more than hollow when a translator working for the USA for years is looking down the barrel of a Taliban gun seconds before becoming a corpse in the dust.

From Bangkok Post Weeds are seen growing around taxis parked at a company parking lot, after drivers were unable to pay rent on them due to the economic hardship of Covid-19 and more than a year of no incoming foreign tourism, in Bangkok, on July 20, 2021. (AFP file photo) The governor of the Bank of Thailand (BoT) has called for an additional 1 trillion baht in government spending to counter coronavirus, saying the blow to the economy from the pandemic is greater than from the Asian financial crisis in 1997. The government can fund additional spending by borrowing more, BoT Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput said Monday at a briefing in Bangkok. Even if public debt tops 70% of gross domestic product by 2024, that would be manageable given high domestic liquidity, low borrowing costs and the country’s current-account surplus, he said. “Additional state borrowing will help support GDP’s growth potential to revive at a faster rate, and will lower the debt-to-GDP ratio in the long run,” Mr Sethaput said. “If the government doesn’t quickly provide additional economic support during a time of high uncertainty and to shield against a prolonged crisis,” public debt will remain at a high level and will be difficult to lower in the long run. https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2166135/bank-of-thailand-head-says-virus-fight-may-need-1-trillion-baht-more

In a separate thread I recently wrote about my Thai/Burmese friend and his issue with the Sinpharm vaccine. 10 days ago he took his two flatmates, both also Thai/Burmese, to hospital as he suspected they might have covid19. Both tested positive. My friend was negative. One is now much improved and has been moved to 14-day quarantine. This morning his other friend died. He was only 25. Unless more vaccines are quickly located and those in the younger age groups are vaccinated, I fear this will become a much more common occurrence.